Centaur Thermal Systems Opens Cambridge Facility

25 March 1998
Centaur Thermal Systems Opens Cambridge Facility

              Heat Storage System Revolutionizes Vehicle Heating

    DETROIT, March 25 -- Centaur Thermal Systems Inc. today
announced the opening of its North American production and manufacturing
facility in Cambridge, Ontario.  The announcement was made by Klaus Woerner,
president and chief executive officer of ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc.,
and Centaur Thermal Systems Inc.
    The facility manufactures Centaur's revolutionary Heat Storage System,
which recently was unveiled at the 1998 SAE World Congress & Exposition in
Detroit.
    "As an innovator, Centaur Thermal Systems' task is not only to develop
technology and turn it into products, but to speed up commercialization so
they can rapidly reach consumers who eagerly want them," said Woerner.
"Today, it is with pride that we open the doors to the Cambridge facility and
propel Centaur's Heat Storage System into North American production."
    Currently supplying its Heat Storage System to Germany's Votex GmbH, a
subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, Centaur is working with North American automotive
manufacturers on plans to offer the product as a dealer-installed option later
this year.
    The Centaur Heat Storage System represents a major advance in vehicle
heating, defrosting and demisting, while reducing vehicle emissions, and
improving fuel economy, safety and passenger comfort.  Current annual
production capacity of the product is 45,000 units.  "Looking ahead," Woerner
said, "our planned production capacity is 1.5 million units a year."
    Established in 1996, Centaur Thermal Systems Inc. is a joint-venture of
ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc., a designer and producer of automated
manufacturing and test systems, based in Cambridge; and Standard Motor
Products Inc. , a manufacturer of replacement parts for automotive
engine electronics, climate control systems and other components, based in New
York.

SOURCE  Centaur Thermal Systems Inc.